


Good Pain

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2018 [8]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fill, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 10:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13902012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for Pleasure & Pain prompt:Author's Choice, any character with tattoos+/any character without tattoos, trying to explain to the non-tattooed character why the pain of getting tattooed is a "good" painIn which Danny accompanies Steve when he gets his newest tattoo.





	Good Pain

"I think you're taking job loyalty a little too far, babe," Danny said. 

He was sitting on a stool at the counter of the hole-in-the-wall tattoo studio Steve had chosen. It was a small, one-man operation. Waiting area, counter, work area with one reclining chair for Steve and a rolling stool for the tattoo artist. The walls were covered with flash, there was an album on the counter filled with photos of customer tattoos, and oldies music was playing. 

"You don't have to stay," Steve reminded him. 

"Oh, I'll stay. Don't think I haven't had dreams about jabbing you with pointy objects myself." 

Steve rolled his eyes and pulled off his t-shirt, which he threw at Danny's head. "It's not like Keahi's going to be jabbing bamboo spikes under my fingernails." 

"That costs extra," Keahi quipped as he used a disposable razor to shave the area of Steve's chest he'd be working on. He wore purple latex gloves. 

Danny didn't want to ask how much the actual tattoo was costing. He knew even something small could start out at forty dollars. Steve was getting a Five-0 badge tattooed over his heart, which seemed pretty sappy. But Danny knew that each of Steve's tattoos had special meaning for him and he couldn't fault him for wanting to commemorate something that had impacted his life in such a huge way. 

Keahi wiped the shaved area of Steve's chest with rubbing alcohol and then applied the stencil, which left a purpled outline of the badge. 

"Is this where you want it, Commander?" Keahi handed Steve a mirror. 

"Looks good." 

Danny watched with interest as Keahi prepped his tools and supplies. He squeezed black ink into a little paper cup, adjusted his tattoo gun, and rubbed a little Vaseline on top of the stenciled outline. And then he started, the gun humming as he traced the stencil on Steve's chest, occasionally wiping away extra ink and a little blood with the paper towel he had wrapped around a couple of his fingers. 

"This your first time?" Keahi asked, and it took Danny a second to realize who he was talking to. 

"Yeah. Never had any interest in getting inked myself." 

"It's not for everyone." 

Keahi himself had full sleeves and some ink showing at the collar of his tank top. Danny wondered if it was a pre-requisite for tattoo artists to be tattooed themselves. 

"I'm not a fan of being a human pincushion." 

"It doesn't hurt," Steve said, turning his head to look at Danny. "Not like you think it does." 

"Maybe not to you. They trained you to withstand pain in the Navy." Danny knew better than anyone how much pain Steve could tolerate, how he forced himself to stay on his feet when other men would've collapsed. It was kind of terrifying, in a lot of different ways. 

"It's a good pain," Steve insisted. "Because you can see it turning into something beautiful right in front of you, something that will be part of you forever." 

"So, what? This is like a childbirth scenario?" 

Keahi huffed out a laugh but otherwise stayed focused. He worked fast; the whole outer line of the badge was already done. 

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying it's worth putting up with a little discomfort." 

"It's different for everyone," Keahi said. "It depends on pain tolerance, placement, size. I have some clients that come with stress balls to help them deal, and others like the Commander who are pretty chill." 

"I'm pretty chill," Steve said with a grin. 

Danny rolled his eyes. "Human shave ice, I know." 

It was kind of hypnotizing, watching the tattoo take shape. When all the black work was done, one set of needles was put in the autoclave and a new set put on the gun. Keahi poured out some colored ink into little cups and Steve's little respite was over. 

"What does it feel like when it's done?" Danny asked. He idly flipped through the album, which featured a lot of solid black Polynesian-inspired work as well as more colorful depictions of sunsets and hula girls. He wondered what Steve would look like with one of those tattoos that encompassed his whole pec, like the one the Rock had. Imagining that was way hotter than it should've been. 

"Feels like a sunburn," Steve replied. He had his eyes closed and sounded like the jabbing needles were actually lulling him to sleep. "Worst part is when it starts itching." 

The tattoo was completed in a far shorter amount of time than Danny had anticipated. Keahi sprayed something on Steve's chest, cleaning away the excess ink and little spots of blood. He gave Steve the mirror. 

"That looks great! Thanks, man!" They did a fancy hand-clasping bro hug, and then Steve was sliding out of the chair and walking over to the counter. "What do you think, Danno?" 

It was nice work, Danny couldn't deny it. A little red and puffy, but it looked just like their real badges: State of Hawaii Investigator, Five-0 Unit. But Steve had added something below that, a string of numbers. Their real badges didn't have numbered designations. 

"What's with the numbers? That some secret SEAL code or something?" 

"It's a date," Steve replied. 

Oh, yeah. Danny could see it now. 092010. September 2010. That was the month they'd started the task force. 

"September twentieth," Steve clarified. He gave Danny a meaningful look. 

"The twentieth? I don't...oh." That was the day they'd met for the first time, drawing down on each other in John McGarrett's garage. "How are you this sentimental? Seriously?" 

Danny grinned and leaned in, and Steve met him halfway. They share a chaste kiss over the counter. 

"Enough with the mushy stuff," Keahi said good-naturedly. "Let me wrap that up for you, Commander." 

He used medical tape to secure a white, plasticy-looking bandage over top of the tattoo and reminded Steve to be on the lookout for infection and to keep the tattoo hydrated with Aquaphor. Steve put his shirt back on, money changed hands, and then they were ready to leave. 

"So do you like it? You didn't say." Steve pulled the car keys out of his pocket when they got outside. He sounded just a little uncertain, like Danny might hate it enough to not want to see him naked again. 

"I like it. A lot." Danny reached for Steve's hand and gave it a squeeze; they were careful about PDAs in public. "I'll show you how much when we get home." 

Steve grinned, big and happy. "Now we just need to get you one." 

"Dream on, my friend," Danny said as he got into the passenger seat. "My body, unlike yours, is perfect as is. I don't need to make any alterations." 

"We'll see." Once Steve was in the car he leaned over the console and gave Danny a much more thorough kiss. "I'll wear you down." 

Danny protested, loudly and at length, but he knew Steve was probably right. Damn him.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** I say with all pride that I'm one of the chill people who don't have trouble getting tattoos. Usually I bring a book to read. My ex was the one who needed the stress ball. I have eight tattoos in total. Five are fandom-related. So this prompt was really perfect for me. ::grins:: Also, September 20th is the date the first ep aired, at least according to IMDb, so that's the date I used for Steve's tattoo.


End file.
